Sign a buyer's agreement before even being shown a house?

[Jabber Jaw]

RED FLAG!!!!
I bought a 2nd home in Virginia, January 2024. Did a video tour, then drove 700 miles, did a personal tour, & only SIGNED a contract, after making a verbal "offer to purchse"!
Also, bought/built a new home in Florida in 2020, only signed contract after decision on floor plan, lot, etc; then made "offer to purchase"!

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

@Jabber Jaw
The NAR settlement was signed March 15, 2024 (after your recent buying experience) and it was in August that new rules started to take effect.
This is the new normal

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/26/realestate/nar-settlement-approval-commissions.html

 

[redbaron]

Keep in mind, this only affects “realtors” and not all real estate agents and brokers. Regardless of the ruling, the entire industry has reacted.

For first time buyers / sellers or those that do so infrequently, the process will most likely be very different than it was prior to the ruling.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

WOW!! Quite interesting! As an infrequent buyer/seller of "real estate"; to me it's almost like buyer/seller beware.
So the % commission paid has to be negotiated, and who is paying it. I can see where the "old style" contract, the seller pays everything (whatever the agreed %)....broker %, selling agent %, & buying agent % too.
Under the new agreement, the buyer apparently is responsible to pay an agreed %, if it is not in the contract to be paid by the seller!
More simply....in the future a SELLER lists a property, & he pays a % to HIS agent & broker! The BUYER then contracts to pay his agent/broker a %. Each (buyer & seller) being responsible to only their representative. Do I seemingly have a fairly clear understanding of the new NAR agreement?? Your help is appreciated!
Dang, I better become very familiar with this law, as I will probably be selling this property in Florida, this year, or next!
GEEZ, What ever happened to the good ol "handshake" deal? Politicians, Lawyers, unethical people, or plain ol Greedy people?
Dang, Life has certainly gotten more confusing for us "ol folks"!

 

[bpaikman]

A quick disclosure; I operated and retired from a single desk real estate brokerage in commercial ranch, farm and timber properties for many years. I didn't participate in residential properties or MLS and I did not join the local or national realtors association. I simply maintained a broker's license in the states that I operated in. I was exposed to realtors frequently and kept them in line using common sense. Do not sign anything prior to determining your interest based on your review of the property and the condition of title, CC&R's etc.! Repeat, sign nothing!! Research the local records and determine who owns the property. The the county clerk and tax collector's offices will have the name and address of where they send the tax statement to. If you can't get an acceptable response from the realtor contact that owner directly. Tell the owner you choose to not be represented by the listing realtor and should you and the owner come to a buy/sell agreement you will not be obligated to a fee agreement that you are not a part of. The title and escrow office can help you with the forms and, if you choose to, you can bring a real estate attorney in on your behalf. Realtor behavior can be bazar. Just use common sense and stand your ground. The Seller may have signed an obligation to a realtor that you can't avoid. If that's the case, exit the effort. The Google articles you mentioned are correct. BEWARE!

interestingly we noticed that the sign suddenly disappeared from the yard. We saw a couple of trash bags out in the front and no sign of activity.
By the way are you saying I could find out who owns the property and contact them directly and not have to sign with a buying agent or a selling agent? I really dislike realtors I'm sorry
I'll do a little more research. thanks !

 

[bpaikman]

WOW!! Quite interesting! As an infrequent buyer/seller of "real estate"; to me it's almost like buyer/seller beware.
So the % commission paid has to be negotiated, and who is paying it. I can see where the "old style" contract, the seller pays everything (whatever the agreed %)....broker %, selling agent %, & buying agent % too.
Under the new agreement, the buyer apparently is responsible to pay an agreed %, if it is not in the contract to be paid by the seller!
More simply....in the future a SELLER lists a property, & he pays a % to HIS agent & broker! The BUYER then contracts to pay his agent/broker a %. Each (buyer & seller) being responsible to only their representative. Do I seemingly have a fairly clear understanding of the new NAR agreement?? Your help is appreciated!
Dang, I better become very familiar with this law, as I will probably be selling this property in Florida, this year, or next!
GEEZ, What ever happened to the good ol "handshake" deal? Politicians, Lawyers, unethical people, or plain ol Greedy people?
Dang, Life has certainly gotten more confusing for us "ol folks"!

I really don't like it because I think the 6% is built into the price in our area.

 

[bpaikman]

Keep in mind, this only affects “realtors” and not all real estate agents and brokers. Regardless of the ruling, the entire industry has reacted.

For first time buyers / sellers or those that do so infrequently, the process will most likely be very different than it was prior to the ruling.

what's the difference between a realtor, an agent and a broker

 

[redbaron]

what's the difference between a realtor, an agent and a broker

Simplistically:

Real estate agent: works for a broker. Has less requirements, less legal liability, and less experience.

Broker: the one that is insured and bonded, and meets much higher requirements for both state and insurance.

Realtor: a club of agents, who brand themselves with a copyrighted name of realtor, and work together similar to a union.

All realtors are agents or brokers but not all agents or brokers are realtors.

Realtors lobby very hard and sue to protect the brand etc.

Realtors are the ones that are bound to the decision regarding non set fees, not listing in mls, etc. agents that are not part of the union are not bound by the decision.

 

[punkinhead]

I could be wrong but I don't think signing the agreement before viewing a house is a legal requirement - it's the realtor who's showing it making sure they get paid for their time. We were casually looking at properties from Aug-Dec of last year and had a realtor show us 6 or 8 before asking us to sign a buyers agreement. The problem with the "go look at it without a realtor" advice in our area is that a lot of the properties are unoccupied so the selling realtor puts a key in a lockbox and will only give the combination to another realtor. You might be able to view one at an open house event but those are rare at the rural properties we've been looking at.

 

[redbaron]

I could be wrong but I don't think signing the agreement before viewing a house is a legal requirement - it's the realtor who's showing it making sure they get paid for their time. We were casually looking at properties from Aug-Dec of last year and had a realtor show us 6 or 8 before asking us to sign a buyers agreement. The problem with the "go look at it without a realtor" advice in our area is that a lot of the properties are unoccupied so the selling realtor puts a key in a lockbox and will only give the combination to another realtor. You might be able to view one at an open house event but those are rare at the rural properties we've been looking at.

There is no legal requirement.

A confident and experienced agent/broker will not require it from a buyer who is looking, especially if there is some relationship existing.

A handshake agreement that if the buyer does buy the property and the agent/broker performs their duties timely and professionally then a fee of $xxx will be paid is all that is necessary.

 

[steve@kenai]

interestingly we noticed that the sign suddenly disappeared from the yard. We saw a couple of trash bags out in the front and no sign of activity.
By the way are you saying I could find out who owns the property and contact them directly and not have to sign with a buying agent or a selling agent? I really dislike realtors I'm sorry
I'll do a little more research. thanks !

The county tax collector or assessor will have an entity and mailing address to send the tax bill to. That is public record and normally is available on-line or a trip to the courthouse. The entity may not always be an individual's name. It could be "ABC Revocable Trust" or whatever and the address may be different than the site address. However, the address will give you the contact ability you need to get started. You are not required to participate in a realtor's fee unless you sign something to that affect. If the Seller can't handle that, move on. A handshake deal is still absolutely possible. But, the agreement must be finalized by a written agreement. Go slow and you will do well.
PS A broker must join the Realtors Association to be a "Realtor". I chose not to join and simply maintained my license with the state and stayed upstream from the herd.

 

[bpaikman]

The county tax collector or assessor will have an entity and mailing address to send the tax bill to. That is public record and normally is available on-line or a trip to the courthouse. The entity may not always be an individual's name. It could be "ABC Revocable Trust" or whatever and the address may be different than the site address. However, the address will give you the contact ability you need to get started. You are not required to participate in a realtor's fee unless you sign something to that affect. If the Seller can't handle that, move on. A handshake deal is still absolutely possible. But, the agreement must be finalized by a written agreement. Go slow and you will do well.
PS A broker must join the Realtors Association to be a "Realtor". I chose not to join and simply maintained my license with the state and stayed upstream from the herd.

A realtor told us it has been sold. Odd, no 'sold' sign ever appeared. Well, we didnt want it anyhow. XD

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

Sometimes things happen too fast for sins to keep up. We sold our house last summer: it was listed on a Wednesday at a price above what we wanted, had an open house that weekend, got a awesome offer (full cash offer, no contingencies, 10 day close) on Tuesday!

 

[bpaikman]

That house was on the market for months (bad location for most people)....was owned by "Fee" whatever that is